🍀 Glencore got lucky

Glencore made a killing from coal | Airbnb finally had a profitable year | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for February 16th in 3:05 minutes. ☕️ Finimized over a cà phê trung at [The Hanoi Social Club]( in Hanoi, Vietnam (20°C/68°F ☁️) Today's big stories - Commodity giant Glencore cruised to a record annual profit thanks to coal - This region’s underdog stocks could stage a surprise comeback – [Read Now]( - Airbnb had a bumper quarter, and finally celebrated a profitable year Mine Alone [Mine Alone] What’s Going On Here? Commodities titan Glencore [announced]( on Wednesday that it dug its way to a sensational profit last year. What Does This Mean? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered pandemonium in commodity markets last year, and the wild price swings that followed served Glencore riches on a silver platter: the firm’s trading division managed to clock up its biggest-ever profit in 2022. Coal was the real money-maker, though. Glencore chose to keep mining the world's dirtiest fuel while competitors kicked the habit – a decision that paid off handsomely when Europe’s winter stockpiling helped push coal prices to record levels. And those ultra-high prices meant that more than half of Glencore’s record profit – up 60% on the year before – was down to those little lucrative black lumps. That put a smile on shareholders’ faces, but what really got them beaming was Glencore’s record $7.1 billion dividend and share buyback plan. Why Should I Care? Zooming in: Pivoting time. Coal may have been Glencore’s star performer last year, but eco-conscious investors are putting pressure on the firm to stop mining the black stuff when its current deposits run out. And that might not be a bad move: barring another energy crisis, demand for coal is only set to drop from now on, and Glencore has other irons in the fire anyway. The firm's got some of the world’s best copper, nickel, and cobalt mines – precisely the metals the global energy transition requires. The bigger picture: Greenish. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs – and it turns out you can't hit net zero without some not-so-green moves, like digging 5.2 billion tons of metal from the earth's core by 2050. See, party-pooping analysts have been warning the world that scaling up wind energy, solar energy, and EV production will actually require far more metals and minerals than old-school, combustion-powered tech. You might also like: [Here’s why you might want to invest in commodities.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Mine Alone&utm_campaign=daily-global-16-02-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Five Reasons To Consider European Stocks Now [Five Reasons To Consider European Stocks Now]( [Photo of Stéphane Renevier] Stéphane Renevier, Analyst [European stocks]( haven’t exactly lit the place on fire in recent years. If anything, they’ve been more of a [long-standing dud](. But things around the world are starting to tilt in their direction, and they’re starting to [build some heat](. So that’s today’s Insight: [five reasons why you might seriously consider adding European stocks to your portfolio now.]( [Read or listen to the Insight here]( Finimize x Revolut You’re buzzing with renewed optimism and energy – we can practically feel it from here. So if you want to revamp your financial setup this year, this deal might do the trick. If you sign up for [Revolut Premium]( today, you’ll get three months of the financial super-app for free. Zero. Zilch. You’ll also unlock six free months of [Finimize Premium](, so you can brush up on the best investment opportunities for free. Oh, you’ll find £10 (or equivalent) in your new Revolut account too: just [sign up today](. SPONSORED BY INTERACTIVE INVESTOR Save £20,000 this tax year Your wallet’s probably a bit squeezed these days, so you’ll want to save cash where you can. That doesn’t just mean spending less on the nice-to-haves, though: you can also make sure you’re not coughing up more than you need to when you pay your taxes. See, you can [shelter up to £20,000]( this tax year in an [Interactive Investor stocks and shares ISA]( – for a small, simple flat fee. You’ll have total control over your investments as well: you can [choose from over 40,000 global stocks](, and make changes or [withdraw your cash]( whenever you want. So if you want to save £20,000 this tax year, you can [open and fund an Interactive Investor stocks and shares ISA by April 5th 2023](. [Check Out The ISA]( The value of your investments may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment product or service, you should seek advice from an authorised financial advisor. Airborne Airbnb [Airborne Airbnb] What’s Going On Here? Airbnb had investors walking on air with an impressive [results]( update earlier this week. What Does This Mean? You'd think high-flying airline prices and widespread economic turmoil would have folk steering clear of travel right now – but based on Airbnb’s results, it seems the mounting stress just drove people to vacation. After all, cross-border trips surged 49% last quarter, with China’s loosening Covid restrictions making travel from the Asia-Pacific region the real grower. And some pandemic trends even went into reverse, with people ditching longer, quieter trips in favor of shorter stays in bustling cities – historically Airbnb's real wheelhouse. In fact, city breaks accounted for half of all bookings last quarter, the first time that’s happened since the pandemic hit. Altogether then, Airbnb overshot revenue and profit expectations last quarter, helping make 2022 the firm’s first full year of profitability. And it doesn’t look like that’s about to change: with demand resilient so far this year, and travelers increasingly booking ahead, the firm gave an upbeat outlook that got investors bumping shares up 12%. Why Should I Care? The bigger picture: Savvy strategy. Cash-strapped households will take an extra buck wherever they can find it, which could be one reason there are so many pads available on Airbnb right now. The company had 6.6 million active listings at the end of 2022 – its highest figure ever, beating the year before by over a million. And now that travel’s reviving, Airbnb is planning to invest in products beyond its main accommodation services again – giving renewed attention to offerings like “experiences”, including guided local excursions for travelers. Zooming out: Doing, not possessing. Airbnb’s move could turn out to be very canny indeed, especially if TripAdvisor’s results are anything to go by. The travel firm said that consumers have kept shifting their spending away from goods and toward activities – which gave tour bookings a welcome boost, and helped TripAdvisor speed past revenue expectations last quarter. You might also like: [BP sees the world accelerating away from fossil fuels.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Airborne Airbnb&utm_campaign=daily-global-16-02-2023&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn’t happen today.” – Laurence J. Peter (a Canadian educator) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY INTERACTIVE INVESTOR More trades, fewer fees [Interactive Investor’s ISA]( looks pretty tidy, for sure, and there’s more where that came from. See, [ii]( – one of the UK’s [top flat-fee investment platforms]( – offers plenty of [top-notch plans](, each with a fixed monthly subscription and trading fees that suit your specific style of investing. And ii has just launched its new [Investor Essentials plan](, which lets you [invest up to £30,000]( for ii’s lowest monthly subscription fee – just [£4.99 a month](. 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Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live 🥳 Coming Up In The Next Week… All events in UK time. 👩‍💻 [Opportunities For Women In Blockchain 2023](: 12.30pm, February 16th 🏠[How To Start Investing In UK Real Estate](: 6pm, February 20th 🗞 [The Relationship Between News And The Markets](: 5pm, February 21st ✍️ [What Are Investment DAOs And How Do They Work?](: 6pm, February 22nd 👀 And After That… 🌥 [Do Recessions Have A Silver Lining?](: 5pm, March 8th 🌎 [Three Ways Long-Term Investors Can Act On Climate Change](: 12pm, March 21st 🎯 On Our Radar - Cheap but not so cheerful. Here’s why the stuff you buy [breaks so quickly]( these days. - Sorry, jilted lovers. You can’t optimize your way out of [a broken heart](. - Interesting introverts. A neuroscientist breaks down the [four key skills]( that set introverts apart. - The 30-90 rule. Sleeping to [this schedule]( will banish your post-nap grogginess. - Forget the incense. 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